USD 490 eNews

Kindergarten students will have a staggered start August 14 and 15. Those whose last name begins with the letter A-J will attend August 14. Those whose last name begins with the letter K-Z will attend August 15. All Kindergarten and PreK students will attend Friday, August 16.

The schools will not be doing the traditional back to school mailing to announce classroom teachers and schedules.

At the elementary level, classroom teachers will send a message to parents via ParentSquare, our new communication platform. Please be sure to check your text messages and emails to see who your child's teacher will be. Kindergarten students will have a staggered start and will not be assigned a classroom teacher until after school on August 15.

At the middle and high school level, student schedules are available via PowerSchool. Parents and students can log in to view those schedules.

Middle school locker combinations will be available during the Open House on Tuesday, August 13, at 5:00 p.m. If students are unable to attend the Open House, they will receive their locker combination on the first day of school.

We have designed a back to school website page that includes a checklist with links to forms and information to help make sure you are ready for the first day of school!

• Complete Online Enrollment
• Apply for Free or Reduced Meals
• Pay Fees
• Prepay for School Breakfast and Lunch
• Verify Transportation
• Read Handbooks
• Check Immunization Requirements and Turn In Health Forms
  
• Purchase School Supplies
• Connect with the District and School
• Subscribe to the Online Activities Calendar
• Attend Back to School Events
• Turn In Athletic Physical and Any Remaining Forms
• Arrive to School On Time
  

To find teacher landing pages, navigate to the district website (www.usd490.org) and select your child's school. Next, click on Menu. There is an icon at the top of the menu titled Staff Directory. Staff is listed in alphabetical order by last name and the teacher Landing Pages are included with their contact information.

There are also useful resources for parents located on the Parent Resources page (https://www.usd490.org/page/parent-resources)

El Dorado Public Schools believes that planning is a key element to emergency preparedness. We have a carefully developed crisis plan for many potential emergency situations and these are practiced with staff and students on a regular basis.

We will be utilizing ParentSquare to communicate with families, staff, and students this year. Parents and staff are no longer required to opt-in to receive emergency text messages but must register their Parent Square account to use the information hub. The information on file in your school office will be what is used to contact you in case of an emergency, so please be sure it is kept up-to-date throughout the school year and check your email or phone and click the activation link for ParentSquare.

ParentSquare has an app available for download. This will be parents' one-stop shop for all school communication. There are group feeds for classes, schools, and athletics/activities as well as the ability to individually message, email or text teachers and coaches. All existing individual athletic and club Facebook and Twitter/X accounts will be deactivated. Those groups will begin using ParentSquare and the school Facebook and Twitter accounts to share celebrations and important information.

During an emergency, student and staff safety is our primary concern. Please be patient as we work with emergency personnel and keep roads leading to the school clear to allow emergency personnel to access the building.

Encourage students to follow the directions of school personnel. This is important all of the time, but is even more critical during an emergency.

Meal accounts should maintain a positive balance. If a student’s account reaches a zero dollar balance, they will only be allowed to charge up to $10 worth of meals and will not be able to purchase a la carte or extra items until the account is brought back into a positive balance.

Once a student’s account reaches negative $10, no further charges will be authorized. Students will be allowed to pay for a meal as it is received regardless of the negative meal account balance, or will be provided with an alternate meal until the account balance is paid. Parents will receive at least one written warning prior to denying further meal charges for exceeding the district’s charge limit.

For the full Unpaid Meal Charges Policy, please view the Board Policy handbook.

You can check the balance carried over from last year by logging in to your PowerSchool parent portal or in the RevTrak online payment portal under Student Food and Fee Payments.

If you haven't already, don't forget to fill out a Free & Reduced Meal Application for the 2024-2025 school year: https://www.usd490.org/page/food-service

• Phil Bressler- Executive Director of Fiscal and Human Services
  

• Danny Adelhardt- PE Teacher, Head Football/Powerlifting Coach, Weights Coordinator
• Larissa Wright- FACS Teacher
• Taylyn Barkley- PE Long Term Sub
  

• Lindsey Baker- Computer/Business Teacher
• Paige Frye- Eighth Grade ELA Teacher
• Natasha Harrelson- Seventh Grade Math Teacher
• Madeline Nichols- Science and Social Studies Long Term Sub
• Sierra Snethen- Seventh Grade Social Studies Teacher
• Kristen Watson- Sixth Grade Math Long Term Sub
  

• Anita Arnold- Principal
• Bethany Young- Counselor
• Hayden Rhodes- Fourth Grade Teacher
  

• Brian Hiatt- Counselor
• Tiffany Demel- Secretary
• Gina Crossfield- SPED Teacher
• Chelsea Maxwell- Speech Language Pathologist
• Jordan Sutton- SPED Teacher
  

• Conner Belcher- Kindergarten Teacher
• Hannah Grooms- Fifth Grade Teacher
• Jordan Tullis- SPED Teacher
  

August 1 Back to School Bash at PAC, 4:00 p.m.

August 5 EHS Fall Sports Parent Meeting, 6:00 p.m.

August 8 Meet the Teacher Night at Grandview, 5:00 p.m.;

Meet the Teacher Night at Skelly, 5:00 p.m.

August 12 EHS & Extend Open House, 5:30 p.m.;

Meet the Teacher Night at Blackmore, 5:00 p.m.

August 13 Open House at EMS, 5:00 p.m.

August 14 First Day of Classes for grades PreK, 1-6, 9 and kindergarten with last name starting with A-J

August 15 First Day of Classes for grades 7, 8,10-12, and kindergarten with last name starting with K-Z;
EMS Fall Sports Parent Meeting at EMS, 6:00 p.m.

August 16 All kindergarten and PreK students attend
EHS Back to School Block Party, 7:00 p.m.
August 22 Musical Instrument Display at EHS, 3:30 p.m.

August 30 Back to School Jamboree at BG Stadium, 5:30 p.m.

Email: usd490@usd490.org
Website: www.usd490.org
Location: 124 West Central Avenue, El Dorado, KS, USA
Phone: (316) 322-4800
Facebook: facebook.com/eldorado.schools
X/Twitter: @eldoradousd490